Fluvoxamine for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder User Reviews (Page 4)

• GRM...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 30, 2020

"I have suffered from severe OCD for many years, been put on many medications that did not work. Luvox-Fluvoxamine, the generic version of Luvox-is what I found worked wonders for my OCD. It takes time, you need to give it time. I started with a small dose for a couple of months, then the dose was doubled a couple of months later, and this continued until my dose was at 300 MG, 150 in the morning and 150 at night, and my OCD is barely noticeable any longer. After trying many different medications, this is the only one that helped with my OCD. It took me a while for this to work, and with every increase in dosage, my OCD was better until I reached 300 MG, and now I feel great and am in control of my life once again."

• Anonymous
• July 13, 2011

Fluvoxamine "I have taken Luvox CR for 2 years and regular Luvox for 5 years before. I was taking 150 mg at night, but I have much better results taking it in the morning. Usual side effects (dry mouth, etc.) dissipate in a few weeks. Best medicine for me, and I pray it keeps working, but 7 years total is pushing it."

• Bab...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 9, 2020

Fluvoxamine "I've been on Luvox for around five to six months. I'm taking 150 mg, and it is not working at all. Intrusive thoughts and OCD are worse than ever. I really am considering taking myself off this horrible medication."

• Mar...
• August 21, 2019

"I have been on nearly every SSRI there is, over a period of nearly 2 years. I suffer from severe depression coupled with anxiety and OCD. My doctor wanted me to try Luvox, and it took almost 8 weeks for me to finally feel better! I started at 50 mg, then went up to 100 mg. When she had me go up to 150 mg, I was unable to tolerate it because of the terrible side effects (waking up with severe chest pain, severe anxiety, burning lips and mouth, no appetite), so I backed down to 100 mg again. Then she had me try 150 again. This time the dose was great. I woke up one morning, and for the first time, I had no chest pain. I felt actually like my normal self. I was able to eat, I was laughing, and I cleaned my house (and boy was it dusty). Just an FYI, I am also taking 200 mg of Lamictal and 200 mg of Seroquel - I sleep very well! Just want to share my success. Depression definitely stinks! I had to quit my job as an elementary school teacher, and I went on disability."

• pin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 2, 2016

"This drug I would HIGHLY recommend if you are struggling with OCD/anxiety/intrusive thoughts. I have been put on many other SSRIs for my OCD, and none worked till my doc prescribed me fluvoxamine. It works specifically for OCD, so it's effective in most people. It has saved my life. Now I can get out of the house and not be plagued by my intrusive thoughts. The only downside for me is decreased libido, weight loss (not having an appetite most of the day), and sleep problems (the sleep problems stopped in a week or so). But hey, I would rather have those side effects than OCD. I think this drug is good to get your mind back on track from OCD. Not sure if there's a time in the future when it would stop working or not, but so far it's been amazing."

• Atw...
• September 21, 2016

"I was unaware that I was suffering with OCD for a long time. Obsessive thoughts constantly plagued me, but so did general anxiety. I was unable to drive on the highway at all, use public transportation, or even go out to eat and be comfortable. All I could focus on was the thought of being sick, getting sick, gagging, etc. Over and over, the thoughts would escalate, and it wasn't until I actually started gagging that I started seeing a CBT, who helped a lot, but in the end, I'm the type that needs talk therapy and medication. I'm so happy and free because now the thoughts either do not come at all, or I have the ability to shut them down. Side effects were minimal (waking up in the night) and only lasted the first week or so."

• Ann...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 17, 2023

"I have tried everything under the sun for my OCD, anxiety, and depression which all contributed to binge eating disorder as well. I've been through my fair share of side effects from other medications - even rare ones like urinary retention. Fluvoxamine was kind of a shot in the dark after having so many past failures. I experienced none of the side effects (Not common!) and I feel better than I have for years. Even the brain fog has lifted. I am now on 100mg daily. I take it at night before bed, which is much easier for me to remember to do than when I've been on morning medications. My self-control has been so much easier to manage and I'm now down 30 lbs (Purposeful weight loss, not a negative side effect). While everyone is different, I hope that it can help others just as significantly as it has helped me."

• Anonymous
• August 23, 2020

Fluvoxamine "My daughter has been on Luvox for 2 years. She started it when she was 11 years old due to extreme OCD symptoms. We didn't see a difference for about 6 to 8 weeks. She is currently on 150 mg. This completely stopped all of her horrible intrusive thoughts, however, she was still dealing with other OCD traits, for example, not letting anyone touch or pat our dog for fear of germs. This would cause severe agitation and anger dysregulation, so she started to take Abilify 5 mg in the morning. This hit the spot perfectly, and her OCD started to fade away, and of course, no agitation or anger bursts. We have just started to reduce the Luvox to try and get down to 100 mg, and so far, no problems, but it is still early days. We did take her off the Abilify for 4 months, but the agitation and OCD symptoms showed up slowly, and we decided to put her back on it. We are hoping to try again soon as, being more mature, she can use the skills she has learned through CBT to manage her thoughts."

• Ren...
• August 16, 2015

Fluvoxamine "I immediately noticed my anxiety went down, but I had to stop taking the medication because I would sleep up to 16 hours a day, which was not practical as a law student. I also experienced severe nausea and headaches. I felt extremely frustrated that I was prescribed this medication by my doctor."

• mat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 6, 2015

"I've been on fluvoxamine for 4 days, and I can already notice a difference. I'm way less stressed because I'm not harping or obsessing over everything! I hope to get a little bit more relief, but I know it will take time. So far, though, I'm happy with it! I'll also post an update in a few months. Take care, everyone."

• Kis...
• December 8, 2021

Fluvoxamine "Was giving this to my daughter of 17 years of age. She struggles with anxiety and intrusive thoughts/OCD. She was on clomipramine 50 mg for 8 months and had a great, normal life, but after 8 months, the horrible side effects returned with heart palpitations and a bad, bad stomachache. We switched her to Luvox 1/2 tablet to start because she is sensitive to meds, and by the 2nd night of a whole tablet dosage, she had extreme rage and sadness. This wasn’t any help for her, it actually made things way worse and woke up her inner demons! She now moved to Lexapro. Fingers crossed. God bless those in search of peace."

• red...
• November 4, 2017

Fluvoxamine "After growing up much of my life leaving myself undiagnosed, I decided to start therapy for OCD and anxiety. I later decided to start taking medicine. I'm only 18 years old. They put me on fluvoxamine/Luvox. I'm currently on 200 mg. It's harder to notice a difference since it took forever to kick in, but overall I feel much better, and I'm able to be more social and not stress out. I'm able to let things go. The only side effect I notice is tiredness. However, I'm able to cope."

• AAJ...
• May 7, 2016

"This medication has been so helpful for my anxiety, OCD, and sleep. It worked really quickly too-within a few days. I never knew I could feel this relaxed. I have suffered from terrible anxiety since childhood and depression. Other antidepressants help my depression but do nothing for my OCD. This medication is quite sedating, so take it at bedtime. I haven't needed sleep meds since I started this medication either. I have a high-stress job and have found I can leave work at work. I haven't been stressing on the little things. I highly recommend this for OCD."

• Leb...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 13, 2020

"I’ve been taking Luvox for almost 2 months now. I’ve realized that I worry less considering my OCD tendencies, where all I do is think of the worst possible outcome. It at least steers me away from that. But I do feel extremely fatigued in the morning, where I have to drag through life until the half-life of so comes up, so it will be less of an impact. I just moved up to 75mg, and I think I want to go back down to 50mg because I am extremely tired and almost fell asleep at work even after seven hours of sleep. Overall, it is not bad but not the best. I’ve taken many SSRIs, SNRIs, and psychotics for bipolar 2, OCD, anxiety, and depression, so it gets frustrating when you feel like you can’t find the perfect match."

• Coq...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 30, 2012

"This medicine has completely changed my life. I had been on Wellbutrin for 4 years yet still had the obsessive, racing thoughts that were so disabling I could barely be present for any given moment. Now I'm taking 50 mg fluvoxamine in the morning and 50 mg early afternoon with 150 mg Wellbutrin in the morning. For the first time ever, I am experiencing what I think life is supposed to be, and what life feels like for a healthy person. The side effects were extremely difficult the first month (bouts of lethargy, insomnia, incessant sugar and carb cravings, sexual side effects), but my body has adapted very well and the side effects are dissipating finally. My suggestion is to give this medicine at least 10 weeks and regular intense exercise to boost serotonin naturally."

• RMa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 3, 2019

Fluvoxamine "Restarted 100 mg Luvox augmented with 20 mg of Memantine while weaning off of 450 mg of Wellbutrin, and I am tired all the time. Hopefully, the tiredness goes away and I don't gain a lot of weight like the last time I used Luvox."

• jul...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 5, 2016

Fluvoxamine "Luvox was the second medication I tried for OCD. I was only on the lowest dose of this medication for 4 days because the side effects were unbearable. About 4 hours after taking this medication, I became incredibly sedated and out of it. The drowsiness was so pronounced that I did not wish to continue this med. Since I had nowhere near reached the therapeutic dose of this medication, I hope that my rating doesn't discourage one from trying it. All SSRIs are notorious for having some initial side effects before you see their benefit; I just couldn't make it to that stage."

• Koo...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 15, 2017

Fluvoxamine "I once had a horrible experience in my life losing a friend, but then I got over it, but met another friend. BUT my mind was making me think I would lose my new friend, like my old friend who stopped being my friend without telling me. Anyways, I found out I had OCD, and I started Luvox. It did take a few extra weeks than expected, but over the last month, I've begun to really not worry and have the compulsive, consistent, non-stop worries! I've definitely come a long way. Especially that my friend assured me if he would stop being my friend, he would let me know."

• Ivy...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 11, 2021

Fluvoxamine "I was on Luvox for OCD, MDD, anxiety, and dermatillomania. Zoloft didn't work, so I tried Luvox. At first, I felt a slight uplift in my mood, but then I started crying every day and became anorexic. I lost weight to the point where I began to look sickly. I've never had any eating disorder prior to my experience on Luvox. It felt like I relapsed and got worse symptoms from my OCD. I'm sure this drug helps others, but it just wasn't the right one for me."

• Mel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 13, 2018

"Long story short, it works. I knew I had anxiety, but it never hindered me. It started to go into panic attacks. Then one day, I had these images and thoughts that were totally unwanted. OCD with compulsive thoughts. Then I went into a depression really bad. It took about two weeks to see a difference, and I had a panic attack, so my medication got increased to 150 mg. I don’t have panic attacks anymore when I’m driving or just in general. Thoughts sometimes, but I don’t focus on it or scold myself about it. I just let it pass, and that’s it. The side effects for me were insomnia, which is why I take it in the morning, and some sexual dysfunction. I can live with that. I’m back on track with life now. I really recommend this drug to try out first. Just give it time, and if you also need to see a psychologist, it helps as well."

• Jul...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 25, 2018

"I've been on fluvoxamine for 5 months now, and it has done wonders for my mental health. At first, it takes some time to see the effects, but now I'm much calmer, and I'm able to control my thoughts instead of them controlling me. I take 100 mg a day in the morning. I do get sleepy sometimes, but otherwise I have no side effects."

• Bel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 30, 2020

"I’ve been on Luvox (150 mg) for 2 months due to OCD and anxiety, and it has been great! My obsession with negative thoughts went away, and I don’t ever remember having them! I don’t have any more anxiety in my chest, it's incredible! It also helped me with my appetite and mood. The only downside is that for the first month, I was really, really tired and slept almost all day. But the drowsiness went away after the second month."

• raf...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 11, 2024

Fluvoxamine "I have been on Luvox for a bit more than three months by now. Started with 50 mg and went up to 150 mg by indication of my doctor. At first, it was horrible, my anxiety increased, and I got a pretty bad case of insomnia. However, after about three weeks and a few days, everything got a lot better and more manageable. Also, I started taking 25 to 50 mg of Lyrica to help with the insomnia. I have to say that Luvox has helped me a lot. After a whole life dealing with OCD and smoking and drinking to get by with the symptoms and the fears, Luvox has helped me a lot to deal with everything and has improved my quality of life a lot. I have even been able to stop smoking completely since I began the treatment. Overall, my experience has been really good, though I cannot say that all my symptoms have gone away. But it has helped a lot. I think that I have to put my best effort to help with the amount of the illness that persists. I wanted to share this experience to help other people."

• Cie...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 29, 2021

"I was on Prozac that caused a horrible experience that I had to suffer for months, and it continued even after I stopped it. It only got better when I took fluvoxamine. I don’t usually write reviews, but this saved me after I got out of the hospital. I could actually think through my thoughts, and I felt it right away, but it wasn’t officially at its best until it was totally in my system for a month or two. Just in a week, I did feel like a whole new person and was able to go a day without a severe panic attack for the first time in a while. I read the reviews when I first started taking it, and I was very nervous, but everyone is different, so give it a chance and move on if it doesn’t work. 10/10"

• Wlf...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 11, 2016

"I've been taking this for almost 10 years now. I started taking this during my 1st semester in undergrad. I started this because my obsessions became debilitating and the chatter volume was getting too loud. For example, if something was said and I heard it/read it/saw it, then I would see it in neon in my head for days, and the phrase, word, or image would just consume my thoughts. The phrase, word, or image would be so bright or loud that I couldn't do anything but focus on it. The medication worked slowly at first, it took about 6 months to really get it worked out. 10 years later, I'd say it does its job, and I'm a better, more functional person because of it. Don't try to go cold turkey off of it, though, you'll regret that!"